With the increasing concern over pollution problems, sludge dewatering has become an essential part of wastewater treatment programs. No longer can untreated sludge simply be dumped into the nearest river, lagoon or vacant lot. With this environmental interest in mind, improved sludge concentrating and dewatering techniques have become an important task in the water treatment industry.
Generally, sludge is given primary dewatering treatment before being discharged from any given process system. Primary dewatering is usually accomplished using thickeners/clarifiers or settling ponds. Secondary dewatering, including vacuum filtration, centrifugation, belt filters, lagoons, etc., is then commonly employed to further increase the solids content and reduce the water content in the resulting sludge by 50 to 90%. This can cause sludge dewatering to be a slow process.
In sludge handling facilities, problems often encountered in the dewatering process include the formation of sludge cake with high moisture content, poor cake release from dewatering equipment, high disposal costs, slow dewatering, and poor equipment efficiency.
Improved sludge dewatering can lead to increased savings, especially with respect to the costs associated with transportation of the sludge to be disposed.
Water soluble polyelectrolytes, such as anionic and cationic polymers, are often added to the sludge to aid in the production of a drier cake and in the reduction of wear and tear on dewatering equipment.
As detailed in the Betz Handbook of Industrial Water Conditioning, 8th Edition, 1980, Betz Laboratories, Inc., Trevose, Pa., pages 253-256, cationic polymers can increase the settling rate of bacterial floc. These polymers further improve capture of the dispersed floc and cell fragments. By concentrating solids more quickly, the volume of recycle flow can be minimized so that the oxygen content of the sludge is not depleted. Further, the waste sludge is usually more concentrated and will require less treatment for eventual dewatering.
One problem with these anionic and cationic polymers is that their operating parameters are limited. The addition of too much of these dewatering agents can cause the solids to disperse and defeat the whole purpose of dewatering.
With the foregoing in mind, the present inventors embarked upon a comprehensive study in an attempt to dewater sludge in a more efficient fashion.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to dewater sludge more efficiently.